Life the past week has been unfortunately emotional. My aunt Julee who has been living and working as a police officer in Scottsdale, AZ has lost her life due to cancer. Her cancer started in her breasts and after her double mastectomy in July 2010 it spread rapidly to her lymph nodes throughout her body. She received numerous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation which bought her some time in this life but also made her extremely sick. Slowly the cancer spread to her spine and hips which made it hard for her to walk. By this time she had stopped the chemo and radiation as it was taking a hard toll on her frail small body but had to return to it to help decrease the size of the tumor residing on her spine. She started doing better mentally and physically but her cancer continued to ravage her body. She did although return to work for a short time! Then as quick as the cancer was determined it came back with a vengeance and spread to her brain which then gave her days to live. She left this world last Thursday, August 25th with my grandpa and aunt Micky by her side.
She is the youngest of my dads 8 siblings (6 of which are living as one of his older sisters passed away in 1982 due to complications while in the hospital. The hospital had actually given her too much of Demerol and it caused her death.) she is in the best shape of all the siblings (becoming a police officer years ago in the city of Scottsdale, AZ), is one of 2 siblings who have no children and is one of 2 siblings that live out of state with no family near her. She was only a mere 39 years and 1 month young when she passed. When I was younger my grandmother (RIP) watched me and a few of my cousins and since Julee is barely 10 years older than me she was still living at home at this time. I LOVED when her school got out and she came home to play! The playroom was right next to her bedroom downstairs and she would play with us everyday until my mom came to get us. She even gave her and I nicknames. She called us the "JAP sisters" because both of us have the same middle name (Ann) and the same initials, well before I got married. We had "inside secrets", played cops and robbers, every board game available and she would even watch PG13 movies with us that we weren't "allowed" to watch. lol. I wanted to be like her when I grew up.
She ended up going to college at the University of Utah and was a drum major for them and then started teaching music in numerous schools in Utah and Arizona. About 7 yrs ago she decided to get out of teaching and become a police officer, which she was equally good at. She was good at all she set herself out to do. She has 3 furry babies that she leaves behind, all of which I hope find good homes with her "extended family" in AZ. Even with trying to prepare for her death all of us are sad. I guess we were all hoping for a miracle of some sort. I am happy she is finally out of pain and is with her mother and sister again. She will be welcomed to them with open arms. One day I will see her again. RIP aunt Julee.
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